Tanner Anderson of Washington state, winner of last year’s Nike Cross Nationals Northwest Regional, will return to the site of that victory on Saturday in an early season matchup with a pair of Foot Locker finalists at the Firman Invitational in Boise, Idaho. Anderson, a North Central senior, got his fall season underway on Sept. 13 with a victory in the Tracy Walters Invitational in Spokane. He ran 14:55 for 3 miles at Audubon Park, 38 seconds faster than he ran on the same course last year.

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Firman Showdown: With three of the nation’s top 10 runners competing on the Eagle Island State Park 5K course, the Firman Invitational promises to stage one of the hottest boys’ races so far this season. Anderson, who went on to place third at Nike Cross Nationals after his regional triumph, will meet Elijah Armstrong of Idaho and Conner Mantz of Utah, sixth and seventh in last year’s Foot Locker race in San Diego. Armstrong’s credentials include the 2013 national indoor 5,000m title. Mantz won the 2014 national indoor 5,000m and captured the Utah State Invitational in 14:54 for 5K on Sept. 5. It was the nation’s second-fastest time this season.

Walters Win: Hoping to run sub-15:00 at the Tracy Walters Invitational, Anderson ran the race aggressively, coming through the first mile in 4:47 on a deceptively tough course noted for its sharp turns and one sandy section. Anderson had hoped to meet his Washington rival, 2013 Foot Locker national runner-up John Dressel of Mt. Spokane, but Dressel was taking the ACT test that day. Still, Anderson achieved his goal with a 14:55.

Summer Base: Over the summer, Anderson built his mileage up to 65 a week, which he has continued into the fall. “I feel a lot fitter and more ready to go than last year,” he says. This summer, Anderson also had a part-time job working with former teammate Kai Wilmot (the 2013 NXN champion who is now at Wisconsin) at Wilmot’s father’s rafting company in Spokane.

Wooded Workouts: Anderson thrives on a key North Central workout called “Coach’s Hill,” consisting of repeated intervals, long and short, on a wooded trail with two significant hills in a state park. The session totals about 20 minutes of hard running.

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Record Race: Winning state and NXN Northwest and then taking third at NXN was more than Anderson imagined when the 2013 season began. His state 3A race was the highlight, featuring four national stars: Anderson, Wilmot, Dressel and 4:08 miler Joe Hardy of Seattle Prep. Anderson held off fast-closing Hardy to win by .33 seconds in a state meet record of 14:45 for 5K. Dressel was third and Wilmot, still coming back from an early-season injury, took fourth.

Turning Point: Anderson, who will soon make his first college visit to the University of North Carolina, said the 2013 state cross country finish is an image he’s still savoring. So, too, is North Central coach Jonathan Knight. “I’ll never forget Tanner’s last 200 with big Joe Hardy closing on him,” Knight says. “Tanner broke the long-standing record held by my high school coach, Randy James.”

Extended Season: After the long 2013 fall season, Anderson accepted the opportunity to make his first trip abroad in early January and compete on a U.S. junior squad in an international cross country event in Edinburgh, Scotland. Anderson took a week off after NXN, then built back up and placed fourth in the 6K race. He says he enjoyed running the muddy terrain and negotiating creeks and other obstacles, which he likened to the NXN course in Portland, Oregon.

State Track: Last spring’s state 3200m had the same breathtaking Washington foursome from cross country—Hardy, Anderson, Dressel and Wilmot. Hardy defeated Anderson, 8:55.11 to 8:58.39, with Dressel third (8:59.78) and Wilmot fourth (9:04.66). Hardy (now a Wisconsin freshman with Wilmot) also won the state 1600m in 4:07.33 as Anderson took fourth in a PR of 4:13.00.

Frosh Phenom: Anderson started running in fourth grade—he tried and failed at baseball and soccer and his mother wouldn’t let him play football—and as a North Central freshman was able to knock out a terrific 4:18.85 mile. “I still didn’t know much or think I’d be very good,” Anderson says. But his talent was evident to North Central girls’ star, Katie Knight, Coach Knight’s daughter. “Katie came up to me one day and said, ‘You’re definitely going to be fast,’” Anderson says. “I took it all in.”

Spare Time: Next winter, in order to spend time with friends outside of running, Anderson’s going to join the school bowling team, which operates as an intramural activity. Anderson has little bowling experience and doesn’t even have his own ball, instead using a “house ball,” which is like a bike racer riding a three-speed. With no indoor track at North Central, Anderson will run on his own. Good cross training for long days at the lanes.

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